Sunday, June 1, 2008

Sri Lankan Tamil couple arrested for murder of two children - London

A young Sri Lnkan Tamil couple were arrested by the New Scotland yard police for the suspected murder of their five year old boy, four year old girl and grievous hurt of a six month old baby girl, by cutting their throats the police said.

"The matter is being investigated by our child abuse unit and not by the terrorist unit right at the moment," a spokesman for the New Scotland Yard said.

He said the woman was also treated for minor injuries and both of them are in the custody of different police stations until the investigations are over and charges are framed. They would be eventually produced in a court of law after that.

The Police refused to divulge the names of the deceased until proper identification and names of the suspects until the charges are framed. But other sources revealed that the couple is Navarajah (39) and Sasikala Navaneethan (35) who moved into the neighbourhood about half an year ago.

The attack on the children and the injury of the woman allegedly took place in a house in South London at Park Road in Carshalton, the Police said. The condition of the baby girl who was admitted to a hospital remained in a serious and critical condition the Police added.

The mother and the father are being questioned by the murder squad and the child abuse unit of the new Scotland Yard now, the Police said.

The Police and ambulances reached the murder scene at 10.30 p.m.

May 30, the neighbours said. The paramedics who came in several ambulances to the scene put them in the vehicles and were seen attempting to resuscitate the injured children before being removing them to the hospital, the neighbours said.

But the two older children aged five and four died within 15 minutes of each other shortly before midnight, Friday. Sources said their throats had been cut.

Neighbours said the tragedy occurred at the time the man who ran a news agency and a grocery store at nearby Coulsdon returned home late at night on Friday.

Neighbours in the usually placid town said the deceased children were very playful and sweet and talked to them while playing outside their house.

The immediate neighbour of the ill fated family, Dhruba Sengupta (66) a retired forensic lab technician said, "I have been living here for more than twenty years and I have never known anything like this" Other neighbours said that despite great tragedy that had occurred both, the man and the woman were calm and not screaming or crying.

Other neighbours said, after the incident a group of Sri Lankan Tamils arrived at the scene and told them that they used to live in the house but moved out because of problems. When police came and spoke to them they started screaming and crying, they said.

The 300,000 Pound four-bed roomed house was taped off while forensic experts were collecting evidence inside.